What are the best practices and tips for using GPS and SBAS in a dynamic and complex environment?

2 Know your GPS and SBAS equipment and settings

Before using GPS and SBAS, you should familiarize yourself with your equipment and settings, such as the receiver type, antenna type, data format, update rate, accuracy, and availability. You should also check the compatibility and interoperability of your equipment with different GPS and SBAS signals and services. For example, some receivers may not support newer GPS signals such as L2C or L5, or some SBAS systems such as GAGAN or MSAS. You should also configure your equipment to suit your application and environment, such as selecting the appropriate mode, datum, coordinate system, elevation mask, and SBAS channel.

3 Plan your GPS and SBAS mission and route

To optimize your GPS and SBAS performance and reliability, you should plan your mission and route ahead of time, taking into account factors such as the satellite geometry, signal availability, signal quality, terrain, obstacles, interference, and weather. You can use online tools or software to simulate the satellite visibility, dilution of precision (DOP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and SBAS coverage and corrections for your location and time. You can also use maps or charts to identify potential sources of signal blockage or multipath, such as buildings, trees, mountains, or bridges.

4 Monitor your GPS and SBAS status and quality

During your GPS and SBAS operation, you should monitor your status and quality indicators, such as the number of satellites tracked, the DOP values, the SNR values, the SBAS messages received, the position error estimates, and the integrity flags. These indicators can help you assess the accuracy, availability, continuity, and integrity of your GPS and SBAS solution, and alert you to any anomalies or errors that may affect your performance or safety. You should also verify your GPS and SBAS solution with other sources of information, such as maps, landmarks, compasses, or other sensors.

5 Mitigate your GPS and SBAS risks and errors

Despite the advantages of GPS and SBAS, they are not immune to risks and errors that may degrade or disrupt your performance or safety. Some of the common sources of risks and errors include signal attenuation, multipath, interference, spoofing, jamming, ionospheric delays, tropospheric delays, orbital errors, clock errors, measurement noise, and human errors. To mitigate these risks and errors, you should use appropriate techniques and countermeasures, such as choosing a suitable antenna location and orientation, using filters or algorithms to reduce noise or errors, using backup or redundant systems to ensure continuity and integrity, and following standard operating procedures and best practices.

6 Learn from your GPS and SBAS experience and feedback

After your GPS and SBAS operation, you should review your experience and feedback, and learn from your successes and failures. You should analyze your data and results, such as the position accuracy, the position availability, the position integrity, the position continuity, and the position confidence. You should also identify any problems or issues that occurred during your operation, such as signal loss, signal degradation, signal interference, signal spoofing, signal jamming, or equipment malfunction. You should then evaluate the causes and effects of these problems or issues, and find ways to prevent or resolve them in the future.